AE: Why did you decide to kill off Ianto?RTD: ...[Ianto's dying] was maximum damage to Jack. And it had to be Jack who was damaged because he’s the sort of moral player here. He’s the one that gave away 12 children back in 1965 to these alien gods. So actually he paid the price to damage him, to make this a tale of retribution and perhaps redemption all come around to him, you have to kill his lover.

AE: So Ianto died in order for Jack to make that final decision about his grandson. To be so damaged he could do something so awful?RTD: Yeah, that's what it took. I know because it’s a great story. What a fantastic story.

Am I nuts, or did RTD just say he intended to fridge Ianto Jones and he’s proud of it?!?

ETA: On further reflection, and after thinking back to my days writing for my college newspaper, I will say that it is possible that RTD discussed “Day Four” in terms of the character’s overall arc and that those comments did not make it into the finished article. However, as the interview currently stands, it makes me feel like I’m about to have an aneurysm, I’m so angry.

I can’t decide what’s more infuriating: his cluelessness (Aren’t I awesome for doing something that comic book fans have been protesting since 1994!); his seeming disdain for his audience; or his refusal to listen to his critics, as in this exchange:

RTD: I think you’re being polite and part of what you're saying is that it wasn’t a properly sexualized relationship … that we didn’t show enough details … I think that’s absolute nonsense. [Editor's note: I wasn't referring to their sexual relationship, but their romantic/emotional one.]

I’m convinced that RTD pulls shit that he thinks is cool without considering the implications. Let’s make Jack immortal!...so he’ll outlive everyone he loves. Let’s give Jack a Kiss of Life!...until we realize it removes the threat of death, at which point we Never Speak of It Again. Let’s do a Torchwood story that makes Battlestar Galactica look like Singin’ in the Rain!...thereby turning the optimism of Doctor Who into a hollow mockery because they’re set in the same fictional universe, you SCHMUCK.